Second try to test rate limiting
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After building the test tool syslog caller, we can give the testing another try. The syslog caller tool will be one process that creates the designated amount of messages. Since it has a very large output, we need it to produce a lot of messages to see the proper effects. We leave the rsyslog config as it is now.
Before we start, delete the logfile and restart rsyslog.
rm /var/log/everything.log /etc/rc.d/init.d/rsyslog restart
Now we start the syslog caller tool with the following command:
/path/to/rsyslog/tests/syslog_caller -m 1000000
This will run for a little while and then bring you back onto the command prompt. With “-m 1000000” we determine how many messages will be generated. In this case we try 1 million messages, just to be on the safe side.
The entries in the logfile should look like this:
Oct 5 18:22:51 client kernel: imklog 5.7.1, log source = /proc/kmsg started. Oct 5 18:22:51 client rsyslogd: [origin software="rsyslogd" swVersion="5.7.1" x-pid="7193" x-info="http://www.rsyslog.com"] startOct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 0, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 0, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 1, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 2, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 3, severity=6 . . . Oct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 47, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 48, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:52 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 49, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:52 client rsyslogd-2177: imuxsock begins to drop messages from pid 7200 due to rate-limiting Oct 5 18:23:57 client rsyslogd-2177: imuxsock lost 111673 messages from pid 7200 due to rate-limiting Oct 5 18:23:57 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 111723, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:57 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 111724, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:57 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 111725, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:57 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 111726, severity=6 Oct 5 18:23:57 client syslog_caller[7200]: test message nbr 111727, severity=6
The first two messages that we have in the logfile are the startup messages. Right after that, the messages from syslog_caller appear. In the brackets behind the process name we find again the PID. If you compare the PID to the other log messages, you will find that is always the same. Syslog_caller is definately suitable for the test. In the shown log above, i skipped some messages, but the essence is visible. Take a look at message 49 (which is message 50 obviously). Right after that, you find a message logged from rsyslog directly. It states that imuxsock starts dropping messages from PID 7200, in this case the syslog_caller. The next message is again from rsyslog and states the amount of messages that have been lost due to rate-limiting. After this, messages are logged again, at least until rate limiting intervenes again.
This is how we can test the rate limiting properly.
How to build the testing tools?
This article has been tested with rsyslog 5.7.1 on Fedora 13. It is part of the article “How to use rate limiting?”
Go back to First try to test rate limiting (fail)
When building a configuration for rsyslog, you will sometimes stumble upon the question, if your setup really works. To prove this in your environment is very complicated in most cases. For this we have made some test tools, which help you test your configuration. The main reason for us to create these tools was for testing new features and try out scenarios. But in the end we deliver them with every release. We will describe the way how to create and use the testing tools with the example of the tool syslog_caller. This tool creates a bunch of messages for the local loghost.
First you need to navigate to your rsyslog folder. From there you need to go to the subfolder tests. The path could look like this:
/home/username/rsyslog/tests/
We need to “make” the tests first before we can use it.
# make syslog_caller
The make process gives you some output. It looks like this:
CC syslog_caller.or CCLD syslog_caller
After that, we are ready to use the test-tool. Use the following command:
./syslog_caller
This will generate 500 messages by default. You can change the default values with some switches. The switches are usually documented in the .c file of the tool. In this case, when using the following:
./syslog_caller -m 10000
will generate 10000 messages. With the test tools, you can do some stress-testing for your rsyslog installation. A good way to proof, if your configuration is working correctly.